There was another Olympic story that transcended cycling: 22-year-old Bethany Schriever overcame disadvantage and lack of funding to win gold in the women's BMX racing event in Tokyo by 0.09 seconds. Along with teammate Kai Whyte, who won silver in the men's race, Schriever became Britain's first BMX Olympic medalist, and former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher described her as "on the ledge."

Her celebrations with Whitey spread across social media, and Schriever's trip to Tokyo became the focus of her gold medal story; after UK Sport announced in 2017 that it would fund only male athletes for the Tokyo 2020 cycle, Schriever left the national team had to leave and forge her own path.

She became Junior World Champion that year, but had to work part-time as a teaching assistant to finance her BMX career after UK Sport cut funding for women's BMX after the Rio Olympics based on senior riders' results. The boys continued to receive support, but Schriever had to crowdfund the £50,000 needed for travel to races and other expenses in order to meet his Olympic goals.

In 2019, she told the BBC: "My competitors around the world are doing this full-time and getting financial support, so I'm the only one not getting much help," adding, "I'm worried and I don't want my dream of competing in Tokyo to be taken away just because of money issues. I'm not going to let it be taken away from me."

Schrieber eventually raised the money and is now training in Manchester as part of the national team after being accepted by British Cycling's Stephen Park that same year.

After reports emerged that Schrieber had not yet received any support or funding from the national federation, Park was eager to set the record straight. In response to one tweet, he claimed: "Olympic gold medalist had to crowdfund his way to Tokyo because UK Sport only funded him:

"Thank you for your support. However, your facts are misleading: the BC appealed to UKSport (UKSport) to allow us to diversify our existing funding to support the MTB and BMX disciplines that were not funded in late 2016/2017. UKS accepted the case and these disciplines, including Beth, have been supported ever since.

"All of UKS's WCPs [World Class Programs] are, in a sense, contributory programs. But don't think for a moment that the WCP is fully funded; what the WCP does is support and enable the basics." Without [UK Sport's and National Lotteries'] support, it would be almost impossible to win medals. Just getting athletes and support into competitions costs a lot of money.

Schriever told BBC Sport: "Sparky saw my potential and gave me the chance to become a full-time athlete, which led me in the right direction. Look at me now."

Schriever may have received partial funding from UK Sport after 2019, but she still spent the period from 2017 to 2019 without support from British Cycling or UK Sport. She also overcame multiple injuries in the run up to the Games, including two broken legs, a year and a half out of competition, and a dislocated shoulder.

Both Schriever and Park hope that her gold medal win will inspire more people to take up the discipline, with Schriever telling the BBC: "Schriever told the BBC: 'I think it's a great opportunity. I hope more girls and boys will take part"